Tag: formal poetry

  • Weekly Writing Prompt: The Nagging Villanelle

    Think of a phrase you hate to hear. Maybe it’s something your parents said over and over to you about doing your homework or cleaning your room or not going out dressed a certain way. Maybe it’s something a spouse or significant other says (or used to say). Maybe it’s something your toddler is constantly repeating and you just don’t know why.

    Make this phrase one of the refrains of a villanelle. (It can be either the first or the second.) Try to find some catharsis from this poem. Or maybe you can shed some humor on the situation. Either way, enjoy!

    For more information about writing a villanelle, check out the description from the Academy of American Poets.

  • There Are Monkeys Everywhere [IndieInk Writing Challenge]

    For the IndieInk Writing Challenge this week, Sherree challenged me with “There were monkeys everywhere, and that wasn’t a good thing.” and I challenged SAM with “Write a piece in which a can of soda is of significant importance.”

    There Are Monkeys Everywhere

    The monkeys still jump on the bed,
    and the sight fills me with dread.
    When a monkey bumps its head
    another comes to take its stead.

    They’ve been jumping years, it seems.
    This must be the stuff of dreams:
    The flying fur, the high-pitched screams.
    The bed is full; the mattress teems

    with tails, and teeth, and screeching sounds.
    A massive presence which confounds,
    for when a monkey hits the ground,
    there is one more to be found.

    I have tried to get them out.
    At first I’d raise my voice and shout.
    But it seems I have no clout;
    they’d ignore me, dance about.

    Then I tried to call the zoo.
    Surely they’d know what to do.
    But, alas, that was not true.
    The monkeys made fools of them, too.

    Now I stand and watch them dance,
    watch them turn, watch them prance.
    I try to oust with pleading glance,
    but I don’t seem to have a chance.

    Despite my tricks, they don’t disperse.
    The problem seems to just grow worse.
    I wonder where I got this curse
    which I now describe in verse.

    The monkeys still jump on the bed,
    and the sight fills me with dread.
    When a monkey bumps its head
    another comes to take its stead.

    ****

    Interested in knowing more about the piece? Click below the jump.

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